Synopsis In the evening of 14 February 1994, in heavy weather conditions, the skipper of the GYPSY LASS was unable to restart the main engine after stopping for a precautionary change of fuel filters before entering Edith Harbour, British Columbia. Another fishing vessel, the ROYAL PRIDE, was called for assistance, but the GYPSY LASS, which had been carried into shoal water, grounded a short time after the ROYAL PRIDE arrived on the scene. While standing by, the ROYAL PRIDE was subsequently disabled by kelp fouling her Kort nozzle and she also grounded. The Fast Rescue Craft POINT HENRY NO. 2 which came to their assistance was swamped while attempting to rescue the crew of the ROYAL PRIDE and was beached. The crews of the three vessels were rescued by a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter. The Board determined that, while close inshore in adverse environmental conditions, the GYPSY LASS grounded after her main engine failed to restart because no measures had been taken in anticipation of the main engine not restarting. The ROYAL PRIDE grounded because she entered an area of heavy seaweed and lost propulsion when kelp was drawn into her Kort nozzle. The Fast Rescue Craft POINT HENRY NO. 2 was swamped while attempting to manoeuvre to effect a rescue in adverse operating conditions. 1.0 Factual Information 1.1 Particulars of the Vessels 1.2 Description of the Vessels The GYPSY LASS and ROYAL PRIDE were of fibreglass construction and steel construction respectively. The wheel-house on both vessels was situated forward of amidships. The POINT HENRY NO. 2 is a rigid-hulled, inflatable Fast Rescue Craft (FRC) fitted with a centre console and powered by twin 70 HP outboard motors. The FRC is routinely attached to the Canadian Coast Guard (CCG) Search and Rescue (SAR) cutter POINT HENRY based in Prince Rupert, British Columbia. 1.3 History of the Voyage On the afternoon of 14 February 1994, the GYPSY LASS was fishing to the west of Prince Leboo Island. The wind was gale force from the north-east and the vessel was moving heavily in rough seas. The skipper decided that the catch did not warrant continuing to fish in the poor weather conditions and, at about 15453, the GYPSY LASS left the fishing grounds to head for Edith Harbour. At about 1630, as the vessel headed in, a change in engine cadence was heard and the skipper checked the primary fuel filter and discovered water and dirt in the sediment bowl. He stopped the main engine and changed the filter. He then restarted the main engine and resumed the inward passage to Edith Harbour. The filter was checked again at about 1720 and more dirt and water were discovered. The skipper again changed the filter, the engine was restarted and the vessel continued toward port. At about 1910, when the vessel was about five cables off the entrance to Edith Harbour, the skipper stopped the main engine to change the primary and secondary fuel oil filters. He did not want to take a chance that the engine might fail while entering port. However, this time, he was unable to restart the engine after changing the filters. The wind was veering and, as the skipper worked on the engine, he realized that the vessel was being carried toward shallow water and called the ROYAL PRIDE on channel 8 on the very high frequency radiotelephone (VHF R/T) to advise that he required assistance. He then continued trying to restart the motor. The ROYAL PRIDE had been fishing with the GYPSY LASS. At about 1915, the ROYAL PRIDE left Edith Harbour, arriving on the scene at about 1930 to find that the GYPSY LASS had drifted into shoal water. The ROYAL PRIDE was unable to assist but remained standing by. The skipper of the ROYAL PRIDE advised the GYPSY LASS to drop anchor and to notify Prince Rupert Coast Guard Radio Station (CGRS) of the situation. At 1943, the GYPSY LASS advised Prince Rupert CGRS of the vessel's predicament and dropped an anchor (an anchor had not been dropped before because the skipper anticipated that the main engine would restart). The wind had veered to the south-east at 25 to 30 knots with one- to two-metre seas and the combined effect of an ebbing tidal current and the onshore wind caused the GYPSY LASS to drag anchor. She grounded off an unnamed island near Prince Leboo Island, about one mile south-west of the entrance to Edith Harbour. As the crew members prepared to abandon ship, they gathered supplies and flares, and put on their immersion suits. At 2004, the CCGC POINT HENRY was tasked by Rescue Co-ordination Centre (RCC) Victoria to assist the GYPSY LASS and, at about 2212, the POINT HENRY was on the scene. The cutter's FRC, POINT HENRY NO. 2, under the command of the chief officer of the POINT HENRY, was dispatched and landed a crew member with a portable VHF R/T near the grounded vessel to better assess the situation. However, the FRC was unable to rescue the crew on the GYPSY LASS because of the rocks and breaking seas in the area where the fishing vessel had grounded. At 2315, the ROYAL PRIDE lost propulsion when kelp fouled her Kort nozzle. The skipper, hoping to slow the rate of drift, dropped both trawl doors and let go the anchor. He advised the POINT HENRY of the situation and waited for assistance. In anticipation of having to abandon ship, the crew members donned their immersion suits. After returning to the POINT HENRY to pick up additional VHF radios as the FRC's built-in VHF R/T was unserviceable, the POINT HENRY NO. 2 attempted to reach the ROYAL PRIDE with the lightweight tow-line from the POINT HENRY. However, the line was not long enough and the FRC lost the tow-line after it fouled the port propeller. The FRC then went alongside the ROYAL PRIDE and two of the fishing vessel's three crew members jumped aboard. While attempting to rescue the last deck-hand, the FRC was struck by a series of large swells and was swamped. Although three of the four persons on the FRC were washed overboard, they managed to reboard. When the chief officer restarted the engines, he decided to beach the FRC on a nearby, small unnamed island. The two crew members from the ROYAL PRIDE and two crew members from the FRC landed there. Meanwhile, the GYPSY LASS had been holed and sank, forcing her crew into the water. Two of the crew members managed to climb onto the large nearby rock where the crew member from the FRC had already landed. The skipper was carried toward the small unnamed island where he was assisted by the crew members from the ROYAL PRIDE and the FRC. All those on the island found shelter in nearby trees and huddled together to keep warm. At 0212, 15 February, an American SAR helicopter, USCG 6022, the closest resource capable of performing the mission, was tasked from Sitka, Alaska. At 0258, all the crew members were rescued and transported to Prince Rupert, where they arrived at 0325. They were taken to the Prince Rupert hospital, examined and later released. 1.4 Injuries to Persons The three crew members from the GYPSY LASS, the three crew members from the ROYAL PRIDE and two crew members from the POINT HENRY who were manning the FRC were immersed in the sea, but no injuries were reported. 1.5 Damage to the Vessels The GYPSY LASS was declared a total loss. A post-casualty inspection of the ROYAL PRIDE revealed extensive damage to the bottom shell plating and associated framing. The vessel was salvaged and towed to Prince Rupert for temporary repairs before being towed to Vancouver for permanent repairs. The FRC POINT HENRY NO. 2 sustained extensive structural damage and minor motor damage. The FRC was shipped to Victoria to be repaired and repowered with two 90 HP outboard motors. 1.6 Environmental Damage No significant environmental damage was reported. The GYPSY LASS was carrying about 4,100 litres (900 gallons) of light diesel fuel. Oil which leaked into the ocean was dispersed by the action of the wind and waves. 1.7 Vessel Certification The GYPSY LASS and the ROYAL PRIDE were certificated, manned and equipped in accordance with existing regulations. The POINT HENRY NO.2 was not subject to inspection by the Ship Safety Branch of the CCG, but was maintained to CCG Fleet Systems standards for such craft. 1.8 Crew Certification and Experience None of the crew on the GYPSY LASS was in possession of a certificate of competency nor were they required to be by regulation. The skipper had experience in gillnetters, seiners and trollers. He had been skipper on the GYPSY LASS since 1988. The other crew members were also experienced fishermen. The skipper of the ROYAL PRIDE was the holder of a Fishing Master, Class III, Certificate of Competency. He had experience on gillnetters, seiners and trollers and had been skipper on this vessel since 1992. The other crew members on the ROYAL PRIDE did not possess certificates of competency nor were they required to by regulation. They were experienced fishermen. The chief officer of the POINT HENRY who was in charge of the FRC was the holder of a Watchkeeping Mate Certificate. He had been employed with the CCG since 1981. The other crew members on the FRC were also experienced mariners but were not certificated nor were they required to be by regulation. 1.9 Weather Environment Canada reported that a low pressure system from the south-west reached the Queen Charlotte Islands, British Columbia, on the evening of 14 February. The system caused strong to gale-force north-easterly winds in the afternoon which veered and eased to strong south-easterlies in the evening as an associated frontal system crossed the area. The air temperature was about 3C and mixed rain and snow from the front reduced visibility at times to below two miles. The water temperature was about 12C. 1.10 Tidal Information On 14 February 1994, high water at Hudson Bay Passage, British Columbia, was predicted to occur at 1553 with a height of 5.4 m above chart datum. Low water was predicted to occur at 2152 with a height of 1.5 m above chart datum. Hudson Bay Passage is oriented south-west/north-east, and the flood tide sets to the north-east and the ebb to the south-west in the passage. The Canadian Hydrographic Service (CHS) chart of the area shows the ebb tide current as about 1.5 knots, fair with the channel, at the south-west entrance to the passage. The GYPSY LASS grounded at about 2004, somewhat less than two hours before the predicted time of low water. 1.11 Search and Rescue Resources The efforts of the vessels tasked by the RCC to assist the GYPSY LASS were hampered by the shoal water in the area. The CCG helicopter located at Prince Rupert takes part in SAR operations whenever the circumstances or conditions permit, but it is not a primary SAR unit and is not equipped for night rescue. The Canadian aircraft and helicopters normally used for SAR missions are located in Canadian Forces Base Comox. A memorandum of understanding with United States authorities allows Canadian RCCs to request resources from the USCG if the RCC decides that is the best option and similarly USCG RCCs can request CCG resources. In this instance, the transit time of Canadian aircraft to the accident site would have been longer than that of the USCG helicopter from Sitka. 1.12 GYPSY LASS Fuel The GYPSY LASS had taken a full load of fuel before starting the trip, sailing with about 6,100 litres (1,350 gallons) of fuel in her tanks which had a nominal capacity of about 6,350 litres (1,400 gallons). The vessel was in her fourth day at the fishing grounds and about 4,100 litres of fuel remained at the time of the grounding. The vessel was fitted with four fuel tanks: two fibreglass tanks aft in the lazaret and two steel tanks in the engine-room. The tanks were interconnected such that fuel for the main engine could be drawn from either the after tanks or the forward tanks or from all the tanks simultaneously. Fuel could also be run from the after tanks to the forward tanks but, when the vessel's tanks were nearly full, only the forward tanks could be used to supply the main engine as the return line from the engine did not go back to the after tanks. At the time of the grounding, as a normal practice to minimize stern trim, the GYPSY LASS was burning fuel which had been run down from the after tanks. These tanks were suspected of being the source of the contamination. Water contamination of the fuel supply may occur because of a leak, the fuelling facilities themselves, or condensation. There was no evidence of a leak which would have affected the vessel's fuel system before the grounding. The trip was the vessel's third trip after a lay-up from October 1993 to January 1994 during which time the tanks were slack and the vessel was unheated.